Daily Thought For August 5, 2018

-
Food That Endures For Eternal Life

When I see that everything around me is collapsing, increasing evil and darkness that may engulf me, I need to remember the words of Saint Paul: where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (Rom 5:20). If I see my personal selfishness or egoism in those around me, I can see it as an opportunity to look for the solution in the one place I can find it. I need to turn to the one who loves me and unceasingly transmits his redeeming graces on the altar. In my difficulties, he is here and now closer to me than ever.

 The chosen people’s forty years of wandering in the desert mirrors humankind’s journey towards God. It is an image of my history too. I can detect in it some of my own temptations to doubt in the face of what seems to be overpowering. For Moses, who led the wandering during this time, it sometimes seemed that everything was falling apart. He felt as though his life was one big failure. Perseverance seemed to bring him to the breaking point. The Bible sums up his extraordinary perseverance: He endured as seeing him who is invisible (Heb 11:27).

 I need to be reminded that everything is taking place according to God’s will or at least with his consent. After all, he foresees it all from the beginning and decides how opposition to his will can best be utilized. “Wicked men,” writes Saint Augustine, “do many things contrary to God’s will; but so great is his wisdom and power, that all things which seem adverse to his purpose do still tend towards those just and good ends and issues which he himself has foreknown.” And somewhere else: “For almighty God…because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil whatsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself.”
Father Tadeusz Dajczer

Popular posts from this blog

Daily Thought For October 23, 2022

-
  Powerful Reflection from The Word Among Us Let’s not get off on the wrong foot with the Pharisee in this parable. He seemed to be doing pretty well spiritually. He was not greedy, dishonest, or adulterous. He fasted twice a week and went so far as to pay tithes on all his income. He prayed at the Temple regularly. That was better than most people. So why did Jesus say he didn’t go home justified? Because the Temple was a place of encounter with God. A holy location where God and his children came together. This Pharisee seemed to be missing that connection with the Lord. Instead of speaking his prayer to God, he prayed “to himself” (Luke 18:11) and itemized his accomplishments. By focusing on his righteous acts, he was not really making himself present to God. He wasn’t inviting God to be present to him either. So he missed the chance to encounter God and receive his mercy and grace. In that sense, the Pharisee left the Temple basically the same way he had entered. The tax collector,
Read more

Daily Thought For May 12, 2016

-
With God Setbacks Become Opportunities EVERY TIME something thwarts your plans or desires, use that as a reminder to communicate with Me. This practice has several benefits. The first is obvious: Talking with Me blesses you and strengthens our relationship. Another benefit is that disappointments, instead of dragging you down, are transformed into opportunities for good. This transformation removes the sting from difficult circumstances, making it possible to be joyful in the midst of adversity.  Begin by practicing this discipline in all the little disappointments of daily life. It is often these minor setbacks that draw you away from My Presence. When you reframe setbacks as opportunities, you find that you gain much more than you have lost. It is only after much training that you can accept major losses in this positive way. But it is possible to attain the perspective of the apostle Paul, who wrote:  Compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, I consider eve
Read more